"Have you found anything of value yet, Commander?"

Todd had sensed Bonewhite's presence several minutes before he arrived in his line of sight, and by the time he did, he had already pivoted to face the entryway where the Second stood. He moved his hands behind his back and slowly paced around the bridge, deliberating on how much to tell his subordinate of the data surrounding the human and Wraith fasting experiment.

"Every piece of insight has value, Bonewhite," Todd said slowly, fixing his eyes on his underling with an odd sense of suspicion. "Whether these insights have merit for the greater good to the Wraith remains to be seen. But, I must make an additional request, as I am missing what could be a rather important bit of intelligence." He waited for his second-in-command to express the interest he knew he possessed. Bonewhite, although substantially younger than Todd at only a few hundred years old, had a thirst for knowledge unlike anything Todd had ever seen before. It should have deterred the Wraith commander from naming Bonewhite to such a high-profile position as his Second, but his faith in the young scientist was unflinching. Bonewhite wanted power, yes, but to gain power, he first needed the knowledge of how to do so. As Todd was among the most powerful of the Wraith fleet commanders, Bonewhite understood the need to serve—and learn—from him.

"What is it that you need, Commander?" Bonewhite asked, his stance broadening.

"I need a sample of the human female's blood."

His Second seemed confused.

"Her blood, sir?"

Todd's patience that day was thin.

"If you do not wish to appease me, I will find someone else that is up to the task."

Bonewhite quickly turned to leave, but halted in his tracks when his commander sent out an additional order.

"She must be calm when it is collected, Bonewhite. Epinephrine will cloud the results, so do make certain not to frighten the little lady."

His Second nodded without facing him, and left the room.

Jennifer's eyes scanned furiously through the Wraith glyphs on the screen, straining to make sense of them. Rodney's translation patch had long since failed to be useful. She sat back heavily against the chair, frustrated at her lack of progress.

Todd had yet to provide her with the results of his little experiment, a fact at which she was quite bitter. She'd taken part it in, and hadn't reaped any of the benefits.

Abruptly, she felt a presence nearby, and when she turned her head, Kenny stood there, silent and looking quite formidable. She sucked in a breath and stood upright more quickly than she thought possible, whirling around and placing the heels of her palms on the table behind her. Their eyes connected, and there was a tense moment during which she thought he was there to take her back to the cell...or worse. Finally, he dipped his head in greeting, but it was faster and less polite than Todd's manner of doing so.

"I have come to request your help with one final piece of the...puzzle...so to speak."

Kenny's eyes, although they bore the same yellow hue and slitted pupils of Todd's, sent a chill through the woman before him. There was something dark within them, a sense of nefarious superiority more deep-seated than that of his commander. Still, she seriously doubted Kenny was there of his own accord. He seemed more content to avoid her than waste his time hunting her down. Todd must have something to do with this.

"And what might that piece be?" Jennifer inquired skeptically, removing her weight from the table and trying to make herself seem taller.

Kenny said nothing, but merely held out an empty syringe. The doctor studied him closely, noting his stance and whether he seemed at all anxious. He didn't. In fact, he seemed quite bored, and so she gave a nod to acquiesce, and the Wraith Second was beside her in two great sweeping steps. He took her arm in his feeding hand and slid her sleeve upward to reveal her skin and veins, the motion surprisingly gentle. Jennifer focused on the only interesting thing in the room at the time to distract herself from the pinch as he inserted the needle into the crook of her elbow—Kenny himself. He was taller than Todd by several inches, but he was far more lithe than the commander. Every move he made was calm and collected and smooth, contrary to Todd's more...frustrated...way of handling himself. While he too could be cool and restrained, Jennifer sensed that in Kenny the behavior was inborn rather than engrained by the societal norms.

"You tolerate him remarkably well," Kenny said abruptly as he withdrew the needle and placed it in a small container. "I must admit I thought you weak when we were first introduced, but I see now that I was mistaken."

Surprised, the woman raised and then knitted her brows.

"Weak in what way?" she asked, genuinely curious. It was refreshing to speak to someone other than Todd, for once, and to be given a compliment from a Wraith was...empowering.

Kenny blew out sharply through his nose as he gave a faint sneer.

"Being taken from your home by the enemy...losing your loved ones...knowing that your chances of ever returning to human companionship are infinitesimal...I had anticipated your emotional health would have fully disintegrated by now. It must be...difficult. Your...buoyancy...is admirable, in its own way. I was not aware humans could possess such strength of character."

When his acquaintance said nothing, the Second cleared his throat and excused himself. Just before he reached the doorway, he stopped at Jennifer's voice.

"You speak as though you have experience in this area," she called. "Do Wraith have family ties within the Hives? Wives? Children?"

Kenny studied her for a long moment, deliberating with himself on his answer.

"It is hardly permissible to create ties while at war, Doctor Keller."

"Unless they prove advantageous to a common goal, of course," the woman quipped.

"Advantageous or not, such attachments are a weakness my kind cannot afford." He turned now, taking a few slow steps toward her with the intent to cause her fear. "You should be more careful to whom you attach yourself, Doctor. Our common goals are only temporary, and you are the last of the Atlanteans. He can't protect you forever."

Evidently finished with their discussion, Kenny grunted and strode through the door as it retracted for him, leaving Jennifer, rather confused, in his wake. She was surprised to find that her heart was pounding in her chest—the conversation with Todd's Second had affected her more negatively than she'd thought.

A long exhale came from her lungs and she moved to the bookshelf, seeking the second volume of the Wraith translation guide Todd had provided to her when she'd first arrived. The volume was almost as difficult to understand as the glyphs on the laptop, but the simple sentence structure and lack of linear motion made it easier to work through. After a few minutes it became obvious that her attention was lax and her mind was swimming with questions left behind after Kenny's departure. She didn't know whether his words bespoke personal experiences of his own, or if they were a warning to her and nothing more. Her fingers pressed to her temples and began to move in circles in an attempt to relieve her sudden headache.

Being cooped up in the same room day after day was starting to grate on her. She desperately needed a change of scenery. Without Todd present to help her with the translations, the doctor could only research so much. Her mind needed clearing, and time to reenergize, but she couldn't find that in the lab.

Todd had warned her not to wander the ship unescorted, but he had given her no way of contacting an escort should she need one. Unwilling to risk her life, she took to simply pacing the lab and dining area with slow, meandering steps. Her thoughts fluctuated from the data Todd hadn't yet shared with her, to her research, and to her conversation with Kenny.

The Wraith scientist stared at the data on the screen before him, and then at the slide containing the good doctor's blood cells. Impossible.

"What is it Commander?" Bonewhite asked from the other side of the bridge, his attention piqued by his leader's uncharacteristic interest in whatever discovery he had made.

"You are dismissed!" he snapped, breathing hard, his white locks fanning out as he spun his head quickly to see that Bonewhite did as he was told. When the room was empty, Todd's fist slammed down upon the metal table, making the slide and the scanner jump. The results of the human's blood test were devastating. None of the data he had collected from her in her time on the cell could be utilized. Doctor Keller was not fully human. Wraith DNA flowed through her veins.

Millennia later, that imbecile excuse for a Wraith was still causing problems!

The honey-blonde doctor was Wraithkin.

Author's Note: So, what do you guys think? This IS going somewhere, I promise! It's been a long time since I've written a fanfic, but reviews are always welcomed and appreciated!